NASA is working on the most powerful rocket ever built: the Space Launch System. What could it be used for to explore the Solar System?
Continue reading
Since ancient times, humans have looked up at the bright band in the night sky and called it the Milky Way, a name which stuck when it came time to name our galaxy.
Continue reading
Located in the southern hemisphere is the Crater constellation (aka. "the cup), one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the IAU.
Continue reading
From the precipice of "Perseverance Valley" NASA's teenaged Red Planet robot Opportunity has begun the historic first ever descent of an ancient Martian gully - that's simultaneously visually and scientifically "tantalizing" - on an expedition to discern 'How was it carved?'; by water or other means, Jim Green, NASA's Planetary Sciences Chief tells Universe Today.
Continue reading
A new study by an international team of scientists shows how Titan's atmosphere could contain a key building block for organic molecules, which could drastic implications in the hunt for extra-terrestrial life.
Continue reading
In May of 2016, when Mars was making its closest pass to Earth in over a decade, Hubble captured images that were used to make a time-lapse video of Phobos popping out from behind Mars.
Continue reading
A new comet discovery crept up on us this past weekend, one that should be visible for northern hemisphere observers soon.
The discovery: We're talking about Comet C/2017 O1 ASAS-SN, a long period comet currently visiting the inner solar system.
Continue reading
Breakthrough Initiatives achieved a major milestone with the recent deployment of their Sprite satellites, the smallest satellites in history.
Continue reading
As part of NASA's NextSTEP-2 program, Lockheed Martin was recently awarded a Phase II contract to continue work on their Deep Space Habitat prototype.
Continue reading
The first two missions of the unmanned Dream Chaser mini-shuttle carrying critical cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA will fly on the most powerful version of the Atlas V rocket and start as soon as 2020, announced Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Continue reading
A new study by an international team of scientists has found evidence of recent volcanic activity on Mars, which could also lead to evidence of ancient life.
Continue reading
A new study by a team from Brown University has revealed evidence of widespread water on the lunar surface, which could also point towards water in the interior.
Continue reading
Continue reading
The weather on Mercury, such as it is, consists of extreme highs and extreme lows in temperature, owing to its orbit and distance from the Sun.
Continue reading
Located between 19 and 27 million light-years away in the Canes Venatici constellation, is the famous Whirlpool Galaxy (aka. Messier 51)
Continue reading
Continue reading
In a recently published paper, Dr. Duncan Forgan proposed that alien civilizations could create a "galactic internet" by using artificial transits to communicate.
Continue reading
Using data from the New Horizons spacecraft, the mission team has created some new maps of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.
Continue reading
Get ready for the August 21st total solar eclipse, with facts, maps and more!
Continue reading
Continue reading
According to a new study using data from the SDSS, ripples in the Milky Way's disk may be indications of "ancient impacts" with other galaxies.
Continue reading
A recent survey conducted by the Arecibo Observatory detected a strange radio signal coming from Ross 128, a star system just 11 light-year from Earth.
Continue reading
Using data from the Sloan Digitial Sky Survey, an Indian team of astronomers has discovered one of the largest cosmic structures to date - the Saraswati Supercluster!
Continue reading
A new study from the University of Oxford has shown that long after humanity is gone, the tardigrade (aka. the "water bear") will still be living.
Continue reading
ASTROTECH SPACE OPERATIONS/KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - The last of NASA's next generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TRDS) designed to relay critical science data and research observations gathered by the International Space Station (ISS), Hubble and dozens of Earth-orbiting Earth science missions is undergoing final prelaunch clean room preparations on the Florida Space Coast while targeting an early August launch - even as the agency reviews the scheduling impact of a weekend "closeout incident" that "damaged" a key component.
Continue reading
The latest study that looks into the possible existence of Planet 9 offers a new technique, one which is free of the "observational bias" which the others were criticized for.
Continue reading
Continue reading
Two new studies from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have thrown some cold water on the notion that planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system might be habitable.
Continue reading
A new study from Michigan Tech presents a new concept for small satellite propulsion, one which relies on magnetically-activated fluids to generate thrust.
Continue reading
In a classic swords to plowshares move, two converted WB-57 aircraft flown by NASA's Airborne Science Program and scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado will greet the shadow of the Moon as it rushes across the contiguous United States on Monday, August 21st on a daring mission of science.
Continue reading
Continue reading
Continue reading
Juno made history the other day when it conducted the closest pass in history to Jupiter's Great Red Spot, and the photos are already coming in!
Continue reading
Why are the planets round? For that matter, why are all the big objects in the Universe this shape? The answer has to do with how gravity works and how star systems are formed.
Continue reading
While we tend to think of Mach One as being the speed it takes to break the sound barrier, its a bit more complicated than that, and requires a little math!
Continue reading
Days after celebrating the 1st anniversary of its arrival around Jupiter, the Juno probe will give us our most detailed look at Jupiter's Giant Red Spot.
Continue reading
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – July has begun with SpaceX maintaining a blistering pace of blasting rockets and spaceships flying to space and returning to Earth for a host of multipronged missions furthering NASA science both on the International Space Station (ISS) and beyond, commercial space endeavors in the US and overseas and fulfilling billionaire founder Elon Musk's dreams of creating reusable rocketry to slash launch costs and advance humanity's push to the stars.
Continue reading
A single day on the Moon lasts the equivalent of 29.5 Earth days, which is the result of its tidally-locked orbit with Earth, and Earth's orbit around the Sun.
Continue reading
Located between the Monoceros and Canis Major constellations, about 3,200 light years from Earth, is the heart-shaped open star cluster known as Messier 50!
Continue reading
Continue reading
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Vice President Mike Pence, during a whirlwind visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, vowed that America would fortify our leadership in space under the Trump Administration with impressive goals by forcefully stating that "our nation will return to the moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars."
Continue reading
The ESA's Gaia mission made a startling discovery recently, detecting six stars that appear to have been kicked out of the Milky Way
Continue reading
Located in the southern celestial hemisphere is the constellation Corvus (Latin for "the Raven"), one of the original 48 constellations of Ptolemy.
Continue reading
A recent study has shown that Titan's methane lakes experience very low waves, which could make it an ideal landing spot for future missions
Continue reading
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – The third time proved to be the charm as SpaceX kept up a torrid 2017 launch pace and successfully ignited another Falcon 9 rocket late Wednesday, July 5, from the Florida Space Coast and delivered a powerful and heavy weight commercial TV satellite to orbit that will serve "tens of millions of customers globally," Intelsat VP for Sales Kurt Riegel, told Universe Today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center press site.
Continue reading
A new study by a team of astronomers has revealed that an unexpected amount of x-ray emissions coming from Pluto, which was highly unexpected.
Continue reading
A team of MIT graduate students was recently honored by NASA's RASC-AL competition for their MARINA space habitat design
Continue reading
Determining how much stuff is a single light year is daunting, considering how big the Milky Way is. But doing the math, we find that the answer is close to nothing
Continue reading
Mercury and Earth are a study in contrasts, with serious differences in their orbits, atmospheres, surface temperatures, and annual/diurnal cycles. But they do have a few things in common.
Continue reading
Light travels at a speed of 299,792,458 m/s (1080 million km/h; 671 million mph), which works out to about 9,460.5 billion km (5,878.5 billion miles) per year.
Continue reading
Universe Today